Miss Royal’s Mules by Irene Bennett Brown is a delightful novel that takes place in early 1900’s Kansas.
Without either family or funds, Jocelyn Royal also has no job prospects. Well, at least not a respectable job. She decides to sleep in the livery stable hayloft and in the morning ask the liveryman about a job mucking out stables. Almost asleep, she overhears a stranger ask the liveryman if he knows of a cowhand who could help drive a large herd of mules to Skiddy, Kansas. Jocelyn rushes down the ladder and steps into the lantern’s light to volunteer for the job. It takes a little fast-talking, but she finally convinces the man that she’s qualified for the job.
Jocelyn drives the two-mule-team wagon and cooks for the owner, Whit Hanley, and his other hired hand, Sam Birdwhistle. Besides being capable with stock, she’s a good cook and not afraid of hard work. Her dream to purchase her repossessed small farm is worth every hardship and discomfort.
One early morning she awakes to find her boss gone. The other hired hand claims the boss hopes to be back in a few days and that they are to continue the drive to Skiddy. Together the two manage the herd, but not without misadventures and misgivings.
Finally, they arrive at the boss’s run-down ranch, a place, the neighbors say, he inherited from his father but has never lived. The two manage to get the mules settled and fix up the place so it is barely habitable and …. wait. Where could the boss be? Did he have an accident or maybe even get killed? A lot is at stake here. The money due Jocelyn is critical not only to her survival, but also to bring her closer to getting her farm back.
Miss Royal’s Mules is a fun, engaging, warm-hearted story. I loved the true-life characters and the early-Kansas setting. The author’s research of mules, their temperament and loyalty, is evident. Highly recommended.